Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM’s address at 90th Anniversary of Sivagiri Pilgrimage & Golden Jubilee of Brahma Vidyalaya
Namaskar to everybody!
Sree Narayana Dharma Sangham Trust President Swami Satchidananda ji, General Secretary Swami Ritambharananda ji, my colleagues in the Union Council of Ministers and the sons of the soil of Kerala, Sri V. Muraleedharan ji and Rajeev Chandrasekhar ji, officials of the Sree Narayana Guru Dharma Sangham Trust, all the devotees from the country and abroad, ladies and gentlemen,
You cannot imagine my moment of joy as saints have stepped into my house today.
एल्ला प्रियपट्टअ मलयालि-गल्कुम्, एन्डे, विनीतमाया नमस्कारम्। भारतत्तिन्डे, आध्यात्मिक, चैतन्यमाण, श्रीनारायण गुरुदेवन्। अद्देहत्तिन्डे, जन्मत्ताल्, धन्य-मागपट्टअ, पुण्यभूमि आण केरलम्॥
With the grace of the saints and the blessings of Shri Narayana Guru, I have been privileged to be amongst you all earlier also. I have had the good fortune of coming to Sivagiri to seek your blessings. And whenever I went there, I always experienced the energy of that spiritual land. I am glad that today you have given me an opportunity to participate in the Sivagiri Pilgrimage and Golden Jubilee of Brahma Vidhyalaya.
I don't know what kind of relationship I have with you, but I can never forget when a huge tragedy struck Kedarnath ji and pilgrims from all over the country were grappling between life and death. There was the Congress government in Uttarakhand and at the Center and Mr.  Antony from Kerala was the Defence Minister of the country. Despite this, I got a call from Sivagiri Mutt when I was Chief Minister of Gujarat that the saints were trapped there and no contact was possible with them. They said they did not know about the situation there and asked me for help. I can’t even imagine that Sivagiri Mutt ordered me for this work despite the Central government being there. It was the grace of Narayana Guru that I got an opportunity to do this virtuous work and brought all the saints back safely to Sivagiri Mutt even though I did not have enough resources in Gujarat. That phone call touched my heart that I was blessed to be chosen for this noble cause.
Today is also an auspicious occasion that I have got a chance to join you. The 90th anniversary of the Sivagiri Pilgrimage and Golden Jubilee of Brahma Vidhyalaya is not just a journey of an institution. This is also the immortal journey of that idea of India, which keeps moving forward through different mediums in different times. In keeping the philosophy of India alive, the people of Kerala have always been instrumental in this spiritual and scientific development journey of India and have also taken the lead when needed. Varkala has been called the Kashi of the South for centuries. Whether Kashi is in the north or in the south, be it the city of Shiva in Varanasi, or Sivagiri in Varkala, every center of India's energy holds a special place in the lives of all of us Indians. These places are not mere pilgrimages, they are not just centers of faith, but they are awakened establishments of the spirit of 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat'.
On this occasion, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Sree Narayana Dharma Sangham Trust, Swami Satchidananda ji, Swami Ritambaranands ji, and to Swami Guruprasad ji. This pilgrimage and the golden jubilee of Brahma Vidhyalaya include the unending faith and tireless efforts of lakhs of crores of followers. I extend my warm greetings to all the followers of Shri Narayana Guru and also to all the devotees. Today, when I am amongst the saints and virtuous souls, I would like to say that the specialty of India is that whenever the consciousness of the society starts weakening and darkness increases, then some great soul appears with a new light. When many countries and civilizations of the world deviated from their religion, materialism replaced spirituality. Void does not exist and materialism filled it. But, India is different. The sages, saints and gurus of India have always refined, modified and promoted thoughts and practices.
Shri Narayana Guru spoke of modernity! But at the same time, he also worked relentlessly to enrich the Indian culture and values. He spoke of education and science, but at the same time never shied away from glorifying our thousands of years of the old tradition of religion and faith. Here a new stream of scientific thinking also emerges through the Sivagiri shrine, and Goddess Saraswati is also worshipped in the Sharada Mutt. Narayana Guru ji refined the religion and changed it according to the times.
He campaigned against stereotypes and evils and made India aware of its reality. And that period was not normal; it was not a small task to stand against the stereotypes. Today we cannot imagine it. But Narayana Guru ji did it. He fought a logical and practical fight against caste discrimination. Today, with the same inspiration of Narayana Guru ji, the country is serving the poor, the downtrodden and the backward. It has been our priority to give them their rightful dues. And that is why, today the country is moving ahead with the mantra of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas'.
Friends,
Shri Narayana Guru ji was not only a part of spiritual consciousness, he was a beacon of spiritual inspiration, but it is equally true that Shri Narayana Guru ji was also a social reformer, thinker and a visionary. He was far ahead of his time, he could see far away. He was a radical thinker as well as a practical reformer. He used to say that we have not come here to win by arguing forcibly, but we have come here to know and to learn. He knew that society could not be reformed by engaging in debates. Society is reformed by working with people, understanding their feelings and making people understand our feelings. The moment we start arguing with someone, he comes up with arguments and counter-arguments to present his version. But the moment we start understanding someone, the person in question starts understanding us. Narayana Guru ji always followed this tradition. He understood the feelings of others and then tried to explain his point of view. He used to create that environment in the society that the society itself used to get involved in the process of self-improvement with the right arguments.
When we walk on this path of reforming society, then a power of self-improvement is also awakened in the society. For example, our government started the Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao campaign. Laws were there earlier also, but the improvement in the number of daughters has happened only in the recent few years. This happened because our government inspired society for the right thing and created the right environment. When people realized that the government was doing the right thing, the situation started improving rapidly. The results of ‘Sabka Prayas’  become visible in the true sense. This is the only way to improve society. And the more we read, learn and understand Shri Narayana Guru, the clearer that path becomes.
Friends,
Shri Narayana Guru had given us the mantra
“औरु जाथि
औरु मथम
औरु दैवं मनुष्यानु”।
He called for One Caste, One Religion and One God. If we understand this call of Narayana Guru ji very deeply and understand the hidden message within it, then we will find that this message also paves the way for self-reliant India. We all have the same caste- Indianness, we all have one religion- ‘Seva Dharma’ . We all have only one God - more than 130 crore children of Mother India. One Caste, One Religion, One God's call of Shri Narayana Guru ji gives a spiritual height to our sense of patriotism. Our patriotism is not a display of power, but our patriotism is the worship of Maa Bharati and the practice of serving the countrymen. If we move ahead understanding this and follow the messages of Shri Narayana Guru ji, then no power in the world can create differences among Indians. And we all know that no goal in the world is impossible when Indians are united.
Friends,
Shri Narayana Guru started the tradition of pilgrimage before independence. The country is also celebrating the Amrit Mahotsav of 75 years of its independence. At such times, we should also remember that our freedom struggle was not limited only to protests and political strategies. It was not only a fight to shatter the shackles of slavery, but at the same time, the idea of how we would be as a free country was also discussed. What we are up against is not the only thing that matters. For what thoughts we are together is also more important. That is why the tradition of so many great ideas started from our freedom struggle. We got new thinkers in every period. So many concepts and dreams for India came up. Leaders and great people from different parts of the country used to meet each other and learn from each other.
In today's age of technology, we may find all this very easy. But, in that era, these facilities of social media and mobile phones were not there, but these leaders used to brainstorm together and draw the outline of modern India. You see, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore from the eastern part of the country comes here in the south and meets Narayana Guru in 1922. After meeting Narayana Guru, Gurudev said - "Till today, I have not seen a greater spiritual personality than Narayana Guru". In 1925, Mahatma Gandhi came here from Gujarat, the western part of the country, from the banks of the Sabarmati, and met Shri Narayana Guru. The discussion with him had influenced Gandhi to a great extent. Swami Vivekananda himself came to meet Narayana Guru. So many great personalities used to sit at the feet of Narayana Guru and discuss things with him. So many brainstorming sessions used to take place. These ideas were like the seeds of rebuilding India as a nation after hundreds of years of slavery. So many social, political and spiritual people came together, raised awareness in the country, inspired the country and worked to give direction to the country. The India we are seeing today, the journey that we have seen during these 75 years of independence, is the result of the brainstorming thoughts of the same great men.
Friends,
Today India is moving closer to those goals as per the path shown by our sages during independence. Now we have to make new goals and new resolutions. The country will celebrate 100 years of its independence after 25 years, and ten years later we will also celebrate the journey of 100 years of Sivagiri pilgrimage. Our achievements in the journey of these hundred years should be global, and for that our vision should also be global.
Brothers and sisters,
Today the world is facing many common challenges and crises. We have seen a glimpse of this during the Corona pandemic. The answers to the questions of the future before humanity can only come out through India's experiences and India's cultural potential. Our great tradition of spiritual gurus has a very big role to play in it. Our new generation gets to learn a lot from the intellectual discourses and efforts of the Sivagiri pilgrimage. I am sure that this journey of Sivagiri pilgrimage will continue like this. These pilgrimages which are symbols of well-being, unity and dynamism, will become a powerful medium to take India to its destination. With this spirit, I am grateful to you from my heart that you came here. I believe that I will be fortunate to be associated with your dreams and resolutions. Welcoming you, I thank you once again.
DISCLAIMER: This is the approximate translation of PM’s speech. Original speech was delivered in Hindi.